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The Truth About Golf Grips — Can you Handle it?: CUSTOM FIT GOLF CLUBS – Part 2

Club Fitting
Shebylo:  Author
Shebylo: Author

If you remember from Part 1, I interviewed Don and we are discussing custom fit golf clubs and the intricacies of fitting and building them. This series is meant to give you some insight of a builder and to educate golfers about what they can learn from a custom golf club fit and build.

Q: Don, a few questions came up in my mind after our last discussion. I am curious, is there more than one method to fit a golfer? We have been in a lot of golf shops and on many ranges, so how many are there?

A: There are hundreds, believe it or not. I am glad you are asking these questions because it is important for golfers to have some educated and realistic expectations when they show up for a fitting. It also depends a lot on the person doing the fitting and the method used. There are many different philosophies out there. You should make sure you understand exactly what the fitter is saying before you proceed with the fitting and purchase of golf clubs.

Q: How many visits are required and are any return visits needed?

A: As many as it takes for you to understand and be comfortable with the new equipment. And, yes, everyone should have a club person that they trust so they can get occasional maintenance done on the clubs.

Q: We know that grips need changing periodically, how often should they be changed?

A: About every 75 rounds or every year, whichever comes first. Depending also on how much you practice, will affect the wear of the grip. How clean you keep your grips and how you clean them affects grip life.

 

Golf grips matter.
Golf grips matter.

Q: Now with the grips, let’s talk a bit about building the club beginning with the grip. Can you help us out with grip sizes, styles, materials, and correct fit of the grip itself?

A: Well, that’s such an in depth subject, and personal to every golfer. Size is most important, then feel. Styles play a role, and comfort in YOUR hand. Try as many as you can; cord, wrap grip, crossline, with varying degrees of tacky – they will all feel different, but you will find one that is comfortable for you; give you a feeling of confidence. As far as fit is concerned, this is best done with a fitter you have confidence in. Why don’t you explain what your experience was.

Shebylo: Well, OK, the thing I realized with you is not how much I learned; it is how much I didn’t know!! First of all, the reason size of the grip is important has got to do with how effectively the golfer rotates through the ball hitting area. Your swing is optimized by the effectiveness of how well you are connected to the club. The primary point of contact is the grip, so that measurement is very important. The fitter would suggest a grip size and also the number of wraps required (if needed). The feel and style you choose should conform to that suggestion. Remember mine was the tour velvet Golf Pride, 1 1/2 wraps, then later I added the rib to the grip which helped me keep in mind the position of the club face, and increased my confidence. And I think confidence is probably most important.

Q: Even though a golfer chooses a particular grip, do you keep the same wrap (s) length and number all the way through the set from driver to scoring clubs?
A: No. The wraps will vary in length and, maybe number, depending on the data collected during the fitting. All I am going to tell you here is that it varies in accordance with ball flight.

Thanks Don.

So with all the grips on the market these days, I hope that these few words will guide you the next time you are looking around for grips. I bet you never look at a grip the same way again, but I know you can handle it.

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Club Fitting: Real World Example

Club Fitting

The question du jour for most golfers is “How will a custom club fitting session benefit me?” Seeing real world examples allows the golfing consumer to conceptualize what they stand to gain by letting a professional get them into a set of properly-fitted clubs.

Let’s take a look at one of our recent club fittings for a gentleman named Ian. Ian is a good player that came in looking for a little more distance on his driver. The fitting process begins by measuring the true specifications of a client’s equipment; length, shaft flex, loft and lie angle, and swing weight. By having the actual specs of the client’s current clubs, we can best identify anomalies and inconsistencies within the set that might help explain errant shots.

After recording all of the current club specs, we step out onto the driving range to gather shot data. Ian was all warmed up and ready to fire. Since his goal was to find extra distance off the tee, we started by having him hit his own driver to determine what might be causing his shorter drives relative to his above average clubhead speed. The first couple of drives with his own driver (Titleist 910 D3, 9.5 degrees of loft) yielded results that were obvious to the eye. The ball seemed to simply fall out of the air, a typical result of too much backspin. It also came out really high, which partially was a function of the way he released the clubhead through impact, but still something that could be tinkered with a bit.

Taking a look at the Flightscope launch monitor data (click on images for larger version) confirmed that his current driver was not only spinning too much, but the clubhead was inefficient. “Smash Factor” is the efficiency measure often used in club fitting where 1.50 is the optimal result (The formula for smash factor is ball speed divided by clubhead speed). Drivers are engineered to max out at 1.50 in order to conform with USGA standards.

Ian’s driver was averaging about 1.41. To put this in perspective, for Ian’s ability, 1.47 to 1.50 should be the norm for him off the tee. His driver was like hitting the ball with a pillow on the end of a stick, or “dead” in club fitting lingo.

Our first option for Ian was to try something with a bit lower loft to reduce the height of his drives, and to test lower spinning shafts that would reduce the drag on his drives. Excessive backspin kills driving distance, and a rough rule of thumb is backspin around 2,500 rpms is optimal. The club we gave Ian to hit was a Taylor Made Superfast 2.0 TP with 8.5 degrees of loft. The shaft was a strong-flex, Matrix Ozik F7M2 designed to impart less backspin on the ball.

Looking at the screen shots of the Flightscope data in images 1 and 2, you’ll notice the huge improvement in Ian’s distance. He gained 5 mph of ball speed and reduced backspin by 15%, translating into an average of 22 yards of extra distance. And that was before tweaking the club and shaft combination even more to make his misses a bit more manageable.

The moral to the story is simple. Many times, you can’t simply swing the club better to achieve the results you seek. Ian could have swung out of his shoes with his old driver and never come close to the distance he achieved swinging smoother with his new driver. We can all use some swing fine tuning (or complete overhaul at times), but do yourself a favor and play equipment that is right for your swing. The game is a lot more fun that way.

The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.

Follow us on Twitter! @tfsgolf
Facebook page: facebook.com/fittingstudio

Keywords: Golf, Golf Club, Custom Golf Club, Club Fitting, Golf Club Building

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Club Fitting: Why Shafts Matter

Club Fitting

Think of the shaft as the engine of the golf club. You are swinging the club at 50, 70, or 120 mph and without the right shaft, there is little chance that you can return that club head to the ball consistently. An ill-fitted shaft will twist and bend during your swing in ways that make it nearly impossible to strike the ball squarely with any regularity. Look at slow motion golf swings on the internet and note how much a shaft will torque during the swing and that should confirm in your mind the need to have the right shaft in your clubs.

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Stock Shafts vs. After-Market Shafts

You’ll hear people ask if a shaft is “stock” or “after market.” What does this mean? A stock shaft is a shaft that comes standard in a golf club that you can purchase off-the-rack at any golf store. An after-market shaft refers to a shaft purchased separate from a club that typically requires a club builder to install it for you. Often you will see a high-end, after-market brand on your stock driver, but don’t think you just got a $300 driver shaft in your $299 driver purchase. The stock versions of these shaft brands are not constructed the same nor do they perform the same as their after-market cousins. See the image below for the real Matrix Ozik Xcon shaft (top) and the Taylor Made version of it.

On rare occasions, a true high-end shaft will be offered stock in golf clubs, but consumers generally won’t know one way or the other. The paint scheme on the stock shaft will be different, but the construction of the shaft may in fact be the real deal. Again, this is the rare exception to the rule and you’ll need to consult with your local club fitter to get the straight scoop.

Do I Need an After-Market Shaft?

The answer to this question varies. In irons, stock steel shafts are typically the same version as the after-market option. A club fitting can determine if you fit into a shaft offered stock in the club head that best suits your swing. Sometimes your swing may be best suited to an after-market shaft not offered by the manufacturer of the club you hit the best. Only a fitting can determine this.

With hybrids, fairway woods, and drivers, after market is typically the best route. Stock shafts offered in these clubs generally perform inconsistently. A common flaw is that they spin more than is optimal, reducing distance. Finding the right after-market shaft is no easy task though. Most golf stores don’t let you test these shafts so you end up buying shafts based on what you’ve heard from friends or what the employee tells you is a “good” shaft. Unfortunately, a “good” shaft may not be good for your swing. Find a club fitter that allows you to test these shafts before you purchase them.

The takeaway is that shafts matter. Quality shafts are manufactured to offer various spin, trajectory, and flex characteristics that should be expertly matched to your swing. Fitting after fitting confirms that most golfers play shafts that make it difficult to have any consistency in their ball flight. While your swing may have a lot to do with inconsistent ball striking, why add a layer of difficulty to the game by playing shafts that don’t produce your best shot when you put your best swing on the ball?

The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.

Follow us on Twitter! @tfsgolf
Facebook page: facebook.com/fittingstudio

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Club Fitting: For the Birds?

Club Fitting

The debate over club fitting never ceases.  Some contend the “Average Joe” golfer gains nothing from a fitting since his swing presumably changes as much as the wind direction on Soldier Field.  Others say the quickest way to improvement is to allow a fitting to find the arrow that the flawed Indian can shoot the straightest.  Which is it?

The first contingent has a valid argument if “Joe” tops most shots and whiffs the rest. The leading edge of most clubs will scull and top the ball about the same. Otherwise, a quality club fitting is the best first step to chip away at that pesky handicap.

Many a golfer will tell you he’s waiting until he fixes his swing to get a new custom set. Lessons are envisioned, range sessions are theoretically penciled in…but rarely do golfers find that the additional time they need to accomplish the feat. It’s hard enough to strike the ball well with properly-fitted equipment, let alone trying to “pure” a 12-year-old club with a licorice shaft.

What to look for when searching for a club fitter?

  • Hit off of grass. Golf is played on grass, not mats. Therefore, you should not rely on hitting balls off of a mat when making expensive purchases. This should be a no brainer.
  • Get fitted outdoors where you can watch the ball fly. Watching the ball fly for 10 feet does not give you any indication of how well you hit a club. A launch monitor attempts to extrapolate where the shot would have gone, but even with vastly improved technology, the data is wrong quite often. Your body subtly adjusts to what your eye sees, and hitting into a net does not let your brain process the visual feedback.
  • Ensure your club fitter builds your clubs. Wheeling out a fitting cart and ordering a set straight from the manufacturer is not a custom club fitting. Manufacturers have tolerances that allow for variations in each club which can cause a set to have many inconsistencies. You want your club fitter to determine what specs are best for you and then order the club components from the manufacturer so he can build your set. Having the fitter install the shafts correctly, bend the lofts and lies as they should be, and get the proper weight and shaft flex consistent throughout the set is critical.
  • Flightscope and Trackman both manufacture state-of-the-art launch monitors that actually follow the ball in flight. A good club fitter can do the majority of the fitting without spending much time analyzing the data from the launch monitor. HOWEVER…you, the customer, will benefit from seeing the results of each shot on the screen. Seeing is believing, and you’ll walk away confident if you can see the improvement in the numbers for yourself.
  • Doppler-radar launch monitors should be used. Flightscope and Trackman both manufacture state-of-the-art launch monitors that actually follow the ball in flight. A good club fitter can do the majority of the fitting without spending much time analyzing the data from the launch monitor. HOWEVER…you, the customer, will benefit from seeing the results of each shot on the screen. Seeing is believing, and you’ll walk away confident if you can see the improvement in the numbers for yourself.
  • After-market shafts should be available to demo. Shafts that come in stock clubs can range from good to horrible. Most professional golfers use aftermarket shafts and don’t get paid to do so. Why? Because aftermarket shaft options are higher quality and are built to perform better and be consistent from shot to shot. We’ll revisit this topic in more detail at a later date.

 

Playing with a custom set of clubs adds enjoyment to the game. You will hit the ball better with a custom set. Costs can sometimes be just a tad higher than an “off-the-rack” set. Be careful though…custom club fitting can be like taking your car to the mechanic. Insist on using a fitter with the previous five capabilities or you’ll leave some benefits on the table. You’ll probably encounter warehouse club fitters that will insist they can offer a comparable fitting indoors while hitting into a net, but common sense should tell you otherwise.

Conclusion: Custom club fitting is for you, if you want more birds!

The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.

Follow us on Twitter! @tfsgolf
Facebook page: facebook.com/fittingstudio

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